


I’ll Be Okay I Swear.

by isabell_a



Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout 4
Genre: Character Death, Fallout, Other, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Stress, Trauma, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-23
Updated: 2019-09-23
Packaged: 2020-10-26 15:03:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,074
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20744162
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/isabell_a/pseuds/isabell_a
Summary: Nora visits the Dugout Inn one night and has a drink or two. Her mind decides to wander and things go south real quick.





	I’ll Be Okay I Swear.

The strong stench of cigarette smoke and alcohol filled her nostrils with a stinging sensation as she grimaced in disgust. The smell never failed to reach her nose wherever she traveled. Not that she really minded, but it all became too familiar to her after awhile. It was as if she expected to smell it, and whenever it absent, it messed with her head making her feel strange on the inside, almost empty. With an exasperated sigh, she looked down at the partially clean counter top which her elbows rested on. A dirtied glass held between her calloused index finger and thumb, filled halfway with the strongest liquor that Vadim had to offer. Then there was Nora, sitting alone at the sticky bar with nothing but her thoughts and the famous Diamond City Radio, seeming to blend in naturally with the atmosphere of the place, to keep her company. The Dugout Inn wasn’t her normal “go-to” bar, but she was still quite fond of it. It was decorated in a way that reminded her of how the old pre-war ones looked, that’s probably why she liked it so much. Even though Vadim’s booming voice gave her headaches till no end, she still liked visiting every once in awhile. A small smile tugged at the corners of her lips as she thought of the first time she came to Diamond City. She must admit, at first Nora thought they were stuck up assholes who only cared about themselves, but when she looked closer she noticed they were much more. Seeing how everyone survived out here, rebuilding with hope that someday they would wake up to see that there was no more violence and paranoia, just an overall peaceful place...like before the war. Before the war. Nora’s mind began to wander, pulling her back into a dark place, the exact place she tried to promise herself not to fall back into. But she couldn’t seem to stop. Before she knew it, all the chatter and laughter that filled the bar vanished with an eerie silence that followed. The only thing she could hear at first was soft droplets of water falling to the ground at a steady pace. Everything around her was dark, a seemingly endless void swarmed her surroundings all except for a single light illuminating the water droplets cascading down from the ceiling. Soon everything became a little clearer, her eyes darted around the foggy scene before Shaun’s little screams abruptly interrupted the silence. She gasped as her body almost immediately jumped into action as she spun round and round trying to find where the source came from. The wails rang through her ears as she whined in helplessness, reaching out in front of her desperately flailing about to get to her baby, seeming to get nowhere from the effort. It was if she wasn’t even sitting there at the counter with a drink in hand. She now found herself completely engrossed, back at that damned Vault. Vault 111. That graveyard, that nightmare, but yet, the same place that saved her. It was as if she could feel the cold nipping at her nose and cheeks, engulfing her whole body, sending shivers down her spine. Her brown eyes widened as her breathing became heavier and more frequent, making her lungs burn with each inhale. Suddenly she began to feel extremely claustrophobic, whimpering in fear as her vision was clouded by the icy window of the cryogenic pod. All she could make out was her husband’s figure, right across from her, struggling with all his strength to keep their baby boy safe in his arms. Completely oblivious to what the man with the scar over his eye, and dangerous appearance, had in store. Shaun’s cries, Nate’s pained sighs and loud shouting, “No I’ve got him! Let him go!” She must have blinked because she could have sworn that she was just at home, content, and happy with her beloved husband, and lovely baby boy. Now, she’s here. Hiding underground from the horrors of nuclear devastation above, frozen, terrified, confused, angry. All in a blink of an eye. Nora’s breathing stopped as she pounded on the glass in front of her weakly, feeling tears consistently roll down her delicate, porcelain colored face. Eyes squinted, brimming with more tears, lips parted, not wanting to believe what she just witnessed. Not wanting to believe anything that happened. Nuclear war, her husbands murder, her sons kidnapping. She figured she would just go with the cliché that this was all a bad dream. A very, very, very bad dream. Nora’s hand wrapped around Vadim’s dirtied glass so tight that it turned her knuckles white, and made a messy crack down the side from the pressure. The same expression plastered across her face as the one she had when she saw all of those horrible things in the Vault. “Nora! Love, love look at me!” A familiar voice called out. Almost immediately her deep brown eyes, full of sorrow and swollen with tears, darted up to meet the man in front of her, holding her by both her arms. All of her horrid memories ended with a loud .44 gunshot which startled her to no end, jumping at the noise and almost falling out of her seat. She then sat there still in a daze, trying to figure out where she was before she acted. Vadim was trying to get her to speak, just to tell him that she was okay, but Nora didn’t. All of a sudden she felt her chest tighten incredibly since she first started to come back to reality, then it hit her...She forgot to breathe. Finally, she recognized where she was and she gasped for air, wheezing and hunched over, gulping the air into her lungs. Letting the tears fall from her eyes, and watching them fall the the ground, making a perfect dark colored circle on the concrete. It was immensely quiet in the bar now, almost too uncomfortable for the vault dweller. Her whole body shook violently as she clutched the wedding rings that were on a thin chain around her neck. Looking around to see everyone was staring at her in concern and fear. It was too much for her, so with that she took a deep breath in and wiped her eyes with her gloved hands, then trekked her way down the hallway to the exit without saying a word.

**Author's Note:**

> You won’t believe how long i’ve been working on this. I know it’s not the greatest, but I literally wrote it three years ago, left it alone for awhile, but would just go back and read it every once and while and edit some things. So in total it’s been four years in the making lolll. But whatever! Hope it was good enough for you to stick around long enough to read this. Thanks so much!


End file.
